Cerestra Infrastrcture Trust — Cerestra Advisors | Wisefolio

Cerestra Infrastrcture Trust

Private equity, private credit and real-estate funds that don't employ leverage except for operating needs. The largest AIF category.

Overview

About

Cerestra Infrastructure Trust (IN/AIF2/14-15/0113, registered July 2014) is a SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund focused on educational infrastructure — specifically the acquisition of school and educational institution real estate through sale-and-leaseback structures. The fund was managed by Cerestra Advisors Private Limited (CIN: U65923DL2007PTC159330), which was originally co-founded by veteran real estate fund managers Jasmeet Singh Chhabra and Vishal Goel in collaboration with Religare Global Asset Management. In August 2017, Religare sold its stake in Cerestra Advisors to London-based asset manager The Capital Partnership (TCP). Cerestra raised approximately INR 1,000 crore for its first fund (Cerestra Edu-Infra Fund). The fund's portfolio included K-12 schools in Bangalore (Jain Group of Institutions), Mumbai (Witty International School), GEMS Education schools, and various biotech, life sciences, and apparel parks. In 2020 Cerestra forayed into school management and operations in addition to asset ownership. The fund is registered at Level 3, D-3, District Centre, Saket, New Delhi – 110017.

Investment philosophy

Cerestra's infrastructure investment strategy centres on educational and institutional real estate — acquiring rent-yielding school and college buildings and entering into long-term operational lease-backs with school management entities. The model provides school operators with capital for expansion while giving the fund stable, income-generating real estate assets with education as the underlying sector. Cerestra's ambition was to eventually package these assets into a specialist education REIT listed on Indian exchanges. The fund also co-invested alongside institutional partners including AnaCap Financial Partners, Lighthouse Canton (Singapore), and Kolte Patil Family Office.

Team17

Jasmeet Singh Chhabra

Co-Founder · Managing Partner

20+ years across Indian real estate, infrastructure, capital-markets fundraising and private equity. Former Chief Investment Officer at India REIT and Red Fort Capital, growing India REIT from scratch to ~USD 900 Mn.

Vishal Goel

Co-Founder · Managing Partner

Alumnus of Harvard Business School and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, with 20+ years across real-estate advisory, REITs, strategy and ground-up development.

Sachin Batra

SEBI Contact Person (at registration, 2014)

Sachin Batra was the SEBI-registered contact person for Cerestra Infrastructure Trust at the time of registration in July 2014, when the entity operated under Religare Global Asset Management. His contact email was sachin.batra@religare.com.

Anuraag Jhunjhunwala

CEO, Cappella · Education

Sai Krishna Narla

CBO, Cappella · Education

Kirti Sharma

CO-CEO, Crimson · Schools Operations

Husien Dohadwala

CO-CEO, Crimson · Schools Operations

Santosh Chaubey

HEAD, Abeona · Education Services

Bheem Reddy

BUSINESS HEAD, Inventre · Education Services

Registration

SEBI registration

SEBI-registered

SEBI registration no.IN/AIF2/14-15/0113

RegisteredJul 2014 (12 years ago)

Valid untilPerpetual

AddressLevel 3, D-3, District Centre, Saket, New Delhi – 110017, New Delhi, Delhi, 110017

Investment manager

Cerestra Advisors

Insights

No insights published yet.

Disclaimer

Investments in AIFs carry market and credit risk including possible loss of capital. Past performance does not indicate future returns. Information shown is sourced from the issuer's PPM and SEBI filings — confirm against the latest PPM before committing. Wisefolio is an information platform; it is not registered with SEBI as an investment adviser, portfolio manager, or distributor. By using this page you accept our terms and privacy policy, including the self-attestation that you are eligible to view AIF marketing material under SEBI rules.